Irvine is leading the way for innovators

By Katherine Ellison for the Irvine Standard

When biologist Maksim Plikus took the leap into the multibillion-dollar market for hair-loss treatments, he had lots of local support.

Plikus came to UC Irvine as an assistant professor in 2012, attracted by what was then a small team of accomplished skin biologists. He was soon in hot pursuit of a new theory of hair regeneration.

Plikus noticed that certain hair on infants' skin grows long and thick, like that of an adult. That led him to identify a molecule called osteopontin, used by select pigment-making cells to activate hair follicles.

The commercial potential was obvious. Some 80 million American men and women experience hereditary hair loss. Yet Plikus recognized that his talents lay more in research and teaching than in licensing, patents, fundraising and coordinating with the Food and Drug Administration, which regulates prescription drugs. That's why he's grateful for Irvine's sturdy ecosystem of support for innovators, which guided him through such a daunting journey that insiders call it "the valley of death."

"There is nothing that I wanted to do that I haven't been able to find resources for in Irvine's biotech environment," says Plikus, who is now a full professor of developmental and cell biology and founder of Amplifica, a biopharmaceutical company developing breakthrough treatments for hair loss.

Leaving the labs

Plikus' path has become familiar in Irvine, where private incubators and the university invest heavily in encouraging "translational research": taking innovations from the bench to the business world. Some of the results have been dazzling.

Stryker, a leading global medtech firm, paid $4.9 billion last year to buy Irvine's Inari Medical, which develops devices to treat deep-vein thrombosis and emerged from a local medical-device incubator.

"There is nothing that I wanted to do that I haven't been able to find resources for in Irvine's biotech environment." - Maksim Plikus

FirstElement Fuel, a hydrogen-fueling infrastructure company based on research by UC Irvine alumni and founders Shane Stephens and Tim Brown, has raised more than $105 million in private funds. It runs the True Zero network of 40 stations throughout California, providing about 90% of all retail hydrogen fuel dispensed in the U.S.

Michelle Khine, a biomedical engineering professor at UC Irvine, has launched six biomedical startups from her lab, most recently Makani Science, which makes the first wireless, wearable device to monitor patients' breathing, even when they are in motion.

The university has devoted increasing resources to making academics' commercial dreams come true. On the way to establishing a foothold in the $9.2 billion hair-restoration market, Plikus was awarded a $100,000 Proof of Product grant from UCI Beall Applied Innovation, which collaborates with researchers and industry to help commercialize discoveries.

"We're the central hub that connects the discovery and research that happens on campus with local businesses and investors," says Beall spokesman Ryan Mahar. "That's how we build the workforce for tomorrow, supplying local businesses with the talent that can move these opportunities forward."

A strong network in Irvine

Beall's other benefits for startups include The Cove, a three-story, 100,000-square-foot startup center in UCI Research Park that provides offices, work stations and conference rooms. The Cove also hosts a wet lab for early-stage life-sciences products, run by University Lab Partners, a privately funded incubator.

The Beall grants, first awarded in 2016, help researchers with key tasks, including feasibility studies and prototype development, on their way to the market.

Plikus received his award in 2018, the same year in which he co-founded Amplifica. Four years later, the company raised nearly $12 million to begin clinical development of its two leading product candidates.

Plikus appreciates Irvine's strong talent network, which helped him connect with two experts who now serve as company officers: biopharmaceutical executive and entrepreneur Wajdie Ahmad and hair transplant expert and surgeon William Rassman.

In September 2024, the company announced promising results from the first human trial of an injectable treatment known as AMP-303, suggesting the treatment is safe and tolerable and has "significant potential" to address hair loss after just one application. Next up: a new round of human trials and conversations with the FDA.

"Early companies are very fragile," Plikus says. "They're like tiny babies. They need the right environment to survive the early stages as they become more robust. There are so many people I'm thankful for who believed in my idea without any of the clinical trial data. Now it's a lot easier, but before, it was just my idea."

Other UC Irvine leaders to watch

MARIOS PAPAEFTHYMIOU

Dean, Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences, UC Irvine

Papaefthymiou leads the only dedicated school of computing in the UC system. He is a vocal advocate for interdisciplinary research that bridges computer science with medicine, arts and social sciences. IN THE NEWS: The National Academy of Inventors named Papaefthymiou as one of 185 new fellows to the group in December. The school recently launched new initiatives to explore the ethics of generative AI, positioning UC Irvine as a global hub for responsible technology development. IN HIS WORDS: "We are not just teaching students to code; we are teaching them to think about the societal impact of the technologies they build. The future of AI must be human-centric."

CHAD LEFTERIS

President and CEO, UCI Health

Lefteris oversees the recently completed $1.3 billion medical campus in Irvine, which includes a new cancer center and an advanced care facility, plus additional medical hubs and outpatient care centers across Southern California. IN THE NEWS: In December, Lefteris oversaw the opening of the nation's first all-electric, zero-emission hospital - a seven-story, 144-bed general acute care facility with a 24-hour emergency department. IN HIS WORDS: "Irvine is the ideal setting for the nation's first all-electric acute care hospital, thanks in part to the city's leadership in sustainability and focus on climate protection and energy use."

WENDY LIU

Professor of biomedical engineering, UC Irvine

Liu runs an interdisciplinary laboratory focused specifically on immune engineering. Her research explores how the human body's immune system interacts with implanted medical devices, aiming to create biomaterials that promote healing rather than rejection. IN THE NEWS: Liu's team is designing "immunomodulatory" biomaterials that could significantly improve wound care and extend the practical longevity of implantable devices such as pacemakers and continuous glucose sensors. IN HER WORDS: "The immune system is a powerful tool for regeneration. Our goal is to engineer materials that communicate with immune cells to promote healing rather than inflammation."

AOMAWA SHIELDS

Associate professor of physics and astronomy, UC Irvine

Shields is an astrobiologist in search of life outside our solar system. Her research on exoplanets as well as her media appearances and Rising Stargirls STEM program have shot her into earthly stardom. IN THE NEWS: She led a National Science Foundation-funded team that determined the 10 billion or so white dwarf stars in the Milky Way show a greater capacity to support habitable exoplanets than previously believed. IN HER WORDS: "We could be entering a new phase in which we're studying an entirely new class of worlds around previously unconsidered stars."

TIBOR JUHASZ

Professor of biomedical engineering and ophthalmology & visual sciences, UC Irvine

Juhasz holds joint appointments at the Samueli School of Engineering and the School of Medicine. His research on femtosecond laser applications in ophthalmology contributed to the development of the LASIK procedure and a laser treatment for glaucoma. Supported by the National Institutes of Health and UC Irvine's Beall Applied Innovation, these efforts led to the launch of Irvine-based ViaLase. IN THE NEWS: Juhasz was named a 2025 fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, the highest professional distinction awarded solely to inventors. IN HIS WORDS: "I am humbled to have been chosen to be a fellow. Most exciting to me is having worked on an ophthalmological technology that improves lives by allowing people to preserve their ability to see."